Somalia has received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine under the Covax scheme, the first batch the country has received.
People at highest risk of contracting the virus will be the first to receive vaccines – including frontline workers, the elderly and those with chronic health conditions – the heath ministry says.
The country eventually expects to receive a total of 1.2 million doses to vaccinate at least 20% of its population from the Covax facility.
The vaccine arrives at a time when the country is experiencing a new wave of the pandemic.
Somalia has reported 9,190 cases of coronavirus infections and 367 deaths, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins University.
